Back when I used to play Super Nintendo a lot, one of my favorite games was The Jungle Book, in which jungle boy Mowgli comes stocked with a perpetual supply of bananas to lob at enemies. The picture book Tarzan Goes Bananas,
a Disney First Reader written by Judy Katschke and illustrated by
Andrea and John Alvin, features another jungle boy with bananas on the
brain. This time, however, the bananas are the goal rather than a means
to an end.
Like several Disney movies, including The Fox and the Hound and The Lion King, Tarzan
shows us three distinct stages in the life of the main character, with
childhood being the second. This is the point at which this story is
set. Tarzan, the boy raised by gorillas, joins Turk, a gutsy gorilla,
and Tantor, a wimpy elephant, in planning a contest to see who can get
the most bananas down from a particular tree.
All of the main
supporting characters from this phase of Tarzan’s life are present in
this book: Tantor, Turk and his gorilla parents, gentle Kala and fierce
Kerchak. We also have a few other jungle animals to give the book
variety. Other contest participants include a rhino, a baboon, a snake
and what looks to be some type of lemur-like creature, all unnamed. Each
animal has a different strategy for collecting the bananas that hang
high above the ground, but Tarzan suspects that his method may be most
effective of all. Will his extra preparation reward him in the end?
The storyline is fun not only because it uses familiar characters but
also because of the problem-solving skills that the animals display.
Every animal has to come up with a different idea, something dictated by
his or her particular skills. While his fellow participants seem to
mostly think on their feet, relying on their instincts to help them find
the best solution, Tarzan hatches his idea near the beginning of the
book and doesn’t implement it until almost the end, so children can try
to guess what he’s planning and come up with their own ideas for getting
the bananas off the tree.
The writing style is suitably
simple for early readers, with about three to five sentences per page,
mostly consisting of dialogue. The pictures are richly detailed, with
full-color backgrounds and expressive characters, particularly Tarzan.
My only complaint on the illustrations end of things is that at one
point, hundreds – perhaps even thousands – of bananas fall from the
tree, but previous peeks at the tree make it seem that it couldn’t
possibly support that many bananas. It does make for a fun picture, with
Tarzan and his friends swimming in bananas almost like Scrooge McDuck
swims in gold coins, but it’s definitely an exaggeration.
In
addition to the story, the book includes an introductory page for
parents with an explanation of the reasons behind the series and some
suggestions on how to make reading with a child a more memorable and
enjoyable experience. For instance, former International Reading
Association president Patricia Koppman recommends discussing the movie
ahead of time to make sure the child is familiar enough with the
characters to feel a connection with them; if there is a lack of
familiarity, she suggests taking a few minutes to provide context for
the story. She suggests both reading to children and letting the
children read aloud, with parents furnishing words when asked instead of
stopping the story to sound them out. Every reader is a bit different,
but the recommendations included with the book seem helpful.
This is an uncomplicated story, but it’s also a fun tale that encourages
creative problem solving and immerses children in a vibrant natural
setting. If they liked Tarzan, chances are they that will go bananas for Tarzan Goes Bananas.
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